The Conditional Tense

The Conditional Tense

By Russell Sabo

In Spanish, the conditional tense is one of the easiest conjugations to learn. And it is also a simple matter to determine when to use it. When you wish to express an action that has conditions, politeness, probability, or an indirect quotation, use the conditional tense.

Yo remaría estas cascadas si tuviera más experiencia en mi kayak. – I would paddle these waterfalls if I had more experience in my kayak.

Yo comería en ese restaurante pero no tengo suficiente dinero. – I would eat at that restaurant, but I don’t have enough money.

¿Me llevarías al supermercado? – Would you take me to the supermarket?

How is the Conditional Tense Formed?

First, we’ll take the infinitive form of the verb: Hablar (to speak), Comer (to eat), and Vivir (to live).

Add the following endings to the infinitive. Note: All the verbs will receive the same endings, regardless of their AR/ER/IR endings. In this way, the infinitive itself functions as the verb stem. I’ve included the AR/ER/IR conjugations for clarity. Remember that all of the conditional verbs have the accent mark on the í.

Hablar+íais=Hablaríais (you all (informal) would speak), Comer+íais=Comeríais (you all (informal) would eat), Vivir+íais=Viviríais (you all (informal) would live)

Hablar+ían=Hablarían (you all (formal) would speak, they (males or a mixed group) would speak, they (all females) would speak)

Comer+ían=Comerían (you all (formal) would eat, they (males or a mixed group) would eat, they (all females) would eat)

vivir+ían=Vivirían (you all (formal) would live, they (males or a mixed group) would live, they (all females) would live)

Conditional Tense and Reflexive Verbs

The reflexive pronoun appears in front of the reflexive verb.

Ducharse – to take a shower

me ducharía

te ducharías

se ducharía

nos ducharíamos

vos ducharíais

se ducharían

Conditional Tense and Irregular Verbs

There are 12 irregular verbs in the conditional tense which are included in 3 patterns. As is normal in the Spanish language, the irregular verbs are always some of the verbs one uses the most. However, because there are only 12, they are easy to memorize. As a bonus, these 12 verbs are also the same 12 irregular verbs in the future tense, so once you know these verbs, you’ll also know the future tense irregular verbs. Here are the verbs in their respective Pattern families.

Pattern 1

caber – to be contained, to fit / Cabr-

haber – to have (auxiliary verb) / Habr-

poder – to be able, can / Podr-

querer – to want / querr-

saber – to know, to know how / Sabr-

Here is an example conjugation of a Pattern 1 irregular verb in the conditional tense.

Poder – to be able, can

yo podría – I would be able, I could

tú podrías – you would be able, you could

Usted, él, ella podría – you (formal), he, she would be able. you (formal), he, she could

nosotros/as podríamos – we would be able, we could

vosotros/as podríais – you all (informal) would be able, you all (informal) could

Ustedes, ellos, ellas podrían – you all (formal), they (all males or a mixed group), ellas (all females) would be able. you all (formal), they (all males or a mixed group), they (all females) could.

Pattern 2

poner – to place, to put / Pondr-

salir – to leave / Saldr-

tener – to have / Tendr-

valer – to be worth / Valdr-

venir – to come / Vendr-

Here is an example conjugation of a Pattern 2 irregular verb in the conditional tense.

Tener – to have

yo tendría – I would have

tú tendrías – you would have

Usted, él, ella tendría – you (formal), he, she would have

nosotros/as tendríamos – we would have

vosotros/as tendríais – you all (informal) would have

Ustedes, ellos, ellas tendrían – you all (formal), they (all males or a mixed group), ellas (all females) would have

Pattern 3

decir – to say, to tell / Dir-

hacer – to do, to make / Har-

Here is an example conjugation of a Pattern 3 irregular verb in the conditional tense.

Decir – to say, to tell

yo diría – I would say, I would tell

tú dirías – you would say, you would tell

Usted, él, ella diría – you (formal), he, she would say. you (formal), he, she would tell

nosotros/as diríamos – we would say, we would tell

vosotros/as diríais – you all (informal) would say, you all (informal) would tell

Ustedes, ellos, ellas dirían – you all (formal), they (all males or a mixed group), ellas (all females) would say. you all (formal), they (all males or a mixed group), they (all females) would tell.

Hay and the Conditional Tense

When you use the conditional tense of the word “Hay”, which means “there is” or “there are” you will use the word “Habría” – there would be.

Habría más oportunidades si las quisieras. – There will be more opportunities if you want them.

Habría más comida pero Ted se la comió toda. – There would be more food, but Ted ate it all.

When you want to say, “It would be necessary to…” you will use “Habría que”.

Habría que pagar las cuentas. – It would be necessary to pay the bills.

Habría que llegar temprano. – It would be necessary to arrive early.

When to Use the Conditional Tense

Using the conditional tense is very simple. For the most part, any time you would use the word “would” + verb in English (would eat, would pay, would use) you will use the conditional tense in Spanish. Below I’ve listed the conditions of when you would use the conditional tense.

Stating a Conditional, Hypothetical, or Potential Action

Use the conditional tense when stating that a condition needs to be fulfilled before something else can or will happen, or potentially happen.

Yo cocinaría la cena pero no tenemos comida. – I would cook dinner, but we don’t have food.

Showing Courtesy or Politeness

When asking for something or giving a command, using the conditional tense to show courtesy or politeness will “soften” the request or demand. Instead of saying, “Give it to me!” or “Do it now!”, it’s more polite to say, “Could you give it to me?” or “Would you do it now?”

¿Me lo podrías dar? – Could you give it to me?

¿Lo harías ahora? – Would you do it now?

To Convey Probability

You can say that something is probable by using the conditional tense

Serían las tres de la mañana. – It was probably three o’clock in the morning.

Stating an Indirect Quotation

Use the conditional tense when you are quoting something that somebody else said.

Robert le dijo que comería toda la pizza. – Robert told him that he would eat the entire pizza.

Contrary-To-Fact Statements

When you are talking about the result of something that doesn’t exixt or hasn’t happened, you will use the conditional tense along with the imperfect subjunctive. For example: If I won the lottery, I would buy a house for my parents. Here, you haven’t won anything in reality; it’s merely a wish, or a hypothetical statement. Stating that you would buy a house for your parents as a result of hypothetically winning the lottery will require the conditional tense. These are normally If/Then statements about things that aren’t real (yet).

Si yo ganara la lotería, compraría una casa para mis padres. – If I won the lottery, I would buy a house for my parents.

Si tú tuvieras otro zapato, podrías salir de la casa. – If you had another shoe, you could leave the house.

Sign Up for the Spanish Word of the Day!

Sign up here for your Spanish Word of the Day! You will receive our daily e-mail which includes:

The Conditional Tense
By Russell Sabo
In Spanish, the conditional tense is one of the easiest conjugations to learn. And it is also a simple matter to determine when to use it. When you wish to express an action that has conditions, politeness, probability, or an indirect quotation, use the conditional tense.